Recovery
by Anorak Myth
Summary: In an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of Central, Edward restores his little brother to his human body. Al begins to recover in Central, with the help of his brother, his best friend, the military, and even a few stray animals. HIATUS, not abandoned
1. Human Again

Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist.

Recovery

Chapter 1: Human Again

Pain. That was the first thing Alphonse Elric felt when he was restored to his human body. His lungs were screaming at him, _breathe!_ And he was horrified to realize that he didn't remember how. He waited the next few moments in agony, expecting to suffocate, but his instincts finally sprung into action and his lungs filled with air. In. Out. He focused. In. Out. Good. Now that that was out of the way, he could worry about other things. He began to mentally assess himself.

He was hungry. Yeah, that was definitely the most obvious thing. He was starving. Pushing this from his mind, he continued. He wiggled his toes slightly. Good, very good! Well, the popping noise was probably not a good sign, but he wasn't paralyzed. He twitched his fingers. Yay! He opened his eyes slowly, took one look at the dimly lit ceiling, and shut them again with a groan. He was definitely not ready to deal with sight yet.

"...Al?" the whisper came. From his left, was it? Yes, the left. Hm, that voice, it was...oh. Right. Of course. He had almost forgotten, he wasn't alone in...was it a warehouse? He couldn't remember for certain. Well, he had to say something, or Ed would panic.

"Nn..." he slurred. Tongue, not functioning!

"Can you hear me?"

"Nn..nih...nii...su...sa...san...nii-san..." he struggled for the word, but was victorious. Though he wasn't entirely sure Ed could hear him, his voice was hoarse from disuse.

"Al. We did it. Al..." the blond whispered, gently lifting him to hold the terribly frail, emaciated boy in his arms. Al felt tears welling in his steel grey eyes, and knew he wasn't the only one beginning to cry.

* * *

Edward Elric smiled to himself as he carried his little brother, wrapped in his red coat, out of the abandoned warehouse. He glanced around carefully, ever alert in case anyone was watching. He stood silently in the doorway for a moment, tuning out Al's breathing for a moment and listening for any noise. There was nothing, only the soft chirping of crickets in the night. And so he set his sights on...

Shit. He flinched as he realized he had no plan of action. They were a mile out of Central city, he could dimly see the lights. That meant they were at least five miles from Central Military Headquarters. He swallowed nervously. He wouldn't be able to sneak Al into their dorm room. And if someone stumbled upon Al's armor and the transmutation circle in the warehouse...he shuddered. He needed to call someone. And there was no way in hell he was going to leave his newly restored, vulnerable brother alone in the warehouse. He had no choice but to carry him into the city and find a payphone. Well, at least he had some money in his pocket. He was sure of that.

So there was the foundation. So who would he call? He considered as he ran, trying not to jostle his sleeping brother. He knew Winry's number, but she was four days away by train (1). He didn't know Gracia's number. He didn't know any of his coworkers numbers. So that left calling headquarters itself. Was it even open? Who would he ask for?

The first question he couldn't answer. The second he already knew the answer to, and he didn't like it. He would have to ask for Fuhrer Mustang (2). There was no one else he trusted who would possibly be there so late. Well, Hawkeye might be there, but a secretary might not be willing to track her down if she wasn't in Mustang's office.

Alright. Find payphone, call Mustang. Then what? He could hardly trust that he would be safe just saying "Oh, hey, Fuhrer, I committed human transmutation on Al." There were always people listening. So what could he tell him? Something about success. Something about Al. Mustang wasn't stupid, Ed grudgingly admitted to himself. He would understand. He slowed as he came within full view of the city. Perfect. Central had payphones everywhere, it really did. He strode up to one, making sure to look casual as he did so. He stepped into the booth, gently setting Alphonse on the ground, watching and listening a moment to be sure he was still breathing. He supposed it made sense that he would sleep like the dead after being awake for so long, but better safe than sorry, after all.

The blond sighed as he slipped a few coins into the machine and rang the Fuhrer's office. He waited mere seconds before someone picked up.

"Fuhrer Mustang's office," the coolly professional voice spoke, and Ed almost dropped the phone in surprise. He hadn't expected Hawkeye to answer, he had assumed Mustang would have a secretary around, even so late at night.

"Riza, it's Ed, is Roy around?" he forced himself not to use last names or say "Colonel Bastard." He needed to be as discreet as possible. There was silence for a moment.

"Do you know what time it is, Fullmetal?"

"Sorry. But, uh, you know how me and Al were practicing skateboarding? Well, we didn't fall down this time!" Haha, no one would ever suspect him! He was a genius!

"What the hell, Fullmetal? Are you drunk?" Ed face-palmed. Idiot. Though, actually, now that he really thought about it, it was strange for someone to be skateboarding so late at night. And outside the city.

"We, uh, might of had a few drinks," he lied, hoping Mustang would catch him in it.

"You're underage." Ed growled. Okay, okay, so maybe the man was tired and not thinking straight.

"Can you pick us up?"

Silence.

"Please?"

Silence.

"Roy!" he whined.

"Where are you?" he heard him sigh.

"Payphone at the corner of," he peered at the sign, "Thirty-first and fifty-eighth."

"Alright, stay there. I'll send someone over."

"Thanks. Oh, and Roy?"

"Yes?"

"Cut the gas before you get here, Al's sleeping," he dropped the bomb. Even sleep-deprived, Mustang couldn't misinterpret that.

"Holy shit," he heard the man whisper, just before he hung up the phone.

* * *

(1) I'm just guessing here. I don't know how far away everything is, so I'm kind of making this up. But, with my thinking, Eastern HQ is one to two days from Resembool by train and so Central is four.

(2) It's not particularly important to the story to know how Mustang got to be Fuhrer. He just is. And he's newly appointed. I may give Hawkeye and the others promotions, not sure yet. Oh, and Mustang isn't missing an eye or blind or anything, and Havoc isn't paralyzed. Hughes is still dead, sorry. And ALL the homunculi are dead, because I don't want to deal with them, lol. I may change my mind about anime Wrath, but that's unlikely because it would unnecessarily complicate the story.

What'd ya think? Next chapter starts with Mustang's reaction (unless it turns out bad, then I'll do something else). Constructive criticism more than welcome!


	2. Safe

Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist.

Recovery

Chapter 2: Safe

Roy Mustang was not, in general, a nocturnal person. So when he was sitting in his office, almost done with his paperwork, at half past midnight, the last thing he wanted was a call to pick up his subordinate and his brother. His plan was to send someone else to do it while he went home and got some well-deserved rest, but naturally Fullmetal had found a way to foil that plan.

"Holy shit," he muttered. Riza made a disapproving noise before responding.

"Sir?"

He would pick them up himself. He needed to know what had happened. He hadn't known about this. Was Fullmetal injured? Was Alphonse healthy? There were many, many things that could go wrong. Dammit, he knew the kids had the stone, but he hadn't thought they would do the transmutation so soon! Did they even know what they were doing?

"Alphonse Elric is -" he started, but cut himself off. Anyone could be listening. Riza fixed him with her steady, unblinking stare.

"He has decided not to wear his armor anymore. They both need to be picked up," he offered her a smirk that didn't reach his eyes.

Riza blinked slowly. Once. Twice. Three times.

"That's wonderful," she said softly, smiling at him brightly, red eyes closing and brimming with tears. Hayate, laying under her desk, whined anxiously, peering up at her.

"This can wait, right?" he gestured hopefully toward his diminished pile of papers. She nodded.

"I'll drive you two home," he told her, grabbing his keys from his drawer. She had walked to work as always, but he certainly couldn't allow her to walk home at such an hour. True, she was armed, and she had Hayate, but what kind of man would he be to let his beautiful subordinate stroll around Central for just anyone to attack? And if the boys had been injured or, heaven forbid, maimed during their transmutation, he didn't want her to know just yet. No, he would drive her home, then pick up Fullmetal (1).

* * *

Ed sat silently with Alphonse on the sidewalk, his little brother in his lap, head resting against his chest. He heard shouting from a nearby apartment and Al stirred in his sleep. The blond gently stroked his long, tangled hair, crooning softly.

"Shhh, it's alright." But even as he spoke, he heard something out of place in the bushes.

Crunch. He whirled, staring behind him for a moment before breathing a sigh of relief. It was only a dog. He smiled, shifting Al slightly and reaching his automail hand towards the animal. It quivered for a moment, before bolting away, massive belly swinging beneath it.

_Must be somebody's pet, since it's so fat. They'll probably find it in the morning,_ he thought to himself, sighing.

"Fullmetal."

He jumped, causing Al to stir again, this time grabbing a fistful of his older brother's shirt and mumbling. He stood, easily hefting the too-light boy, and scowling darkly at the man. Honestly, all that trouble not to say "Colonel Bastard" or anything else identifying, and Mustang had to go and blow his cover!

"I parked just around the corner. Let's go," he turned and walked away. That was weird. Was he actually being nice? He had really turned the car off so as not to wake Al...it was odd. Ed followed without speaking. He would explain once they were safely in the car.

Minutes later, Mustang was opening the back door and reaching for his little brother. Ed snarled.

"No!"

"Fine," he rolled his eyes, getting in the driver's seat as Ed slipped into the back, settling the younger boy next to him carefully and shutting the door. He waited until they were down another street before beginning his questions.

"Are you alright?"

"Huh?"

"I said, are you alright?" he glanced in the rearview mirror. Ed was staring down at his little brother, smiling softly.

"Al's really skinny, we need to -" he started.

"Was the stone enough?"

"Yeah, yeah, it all went off without a hitch. Well, mostly. Anyway, Al's really skinny and his bones look like they'll snap in half if -"

"Fullmetal! Were you hurt?" he demanded. Ed froze, looking up at him with surprised, confused eyes.

"I'm fine," his voice went gruff as he went on alert, "Since when do you care?"

Mustang frowned, but chose to ignore the comment.

"Good. Is that the warehouse?" he slowed down as they drew near an abandoned building just off the road.

"Yeah, that's it."

"If you want his armor, go get it now. I'll bring it down once you're out."

Ed hesitated.

"You'll stay with Al?"

"I'll stay with Al."

He leapt out of the car, darting into the building and coming back just moments later with the legs of the armor, loading them into the passenger seat and running back in for the rest. Within minutes, the armor sat there and Ed stared at it for a moment. There was no longer a red glow to the eyes, he realized in an almost mournful fashion, before shaking his head. Al was human now. He shouldn't feel so attached to the armor (2). He returned to the back seat next to his brother.

Mustang stepped out and snapped his gloved fingers. Boom. The warehouse came crashing down in an explosion of flames. Moments after, there was nothing but rubble. No one would ever be able to tell what had happened there. He got back in the car and slammed the gas, taking them away from the area.

* * *

"And I was thinking he probably won't be able to walk for at least - uh, Mustang?"

"What is it?"

"I thought you were dropping us off at the dorms," he was puzzled.

"At this hour? Do you want to draw attention, Fullmetal?"

"Oh. But why are we _here?_" he questioned.

"You'll stay here tonight," the man told him, parking in the driveway and strolling to the door as casually as possible. Ed scowled darkly, but didn't protest. It wasn't like he could walk to Gracia's so late at night. So he pulled Al out of the car and carried him inside, placing him carefully on the couch before retrieving the armor and setting it up in the corner.

"Upstairs, first door on your left," Mustang ordered.

"Huh?" he stared at him blankly.

"I do have a guest bedroom, you know. You two will have to share a bed, but you should fit given your stature," he smirked.

"Shut up," Ed growled. Now that the adrenaline from his excitement was beginning to wear off, he was realizing just how exhausted he was. The transmutation really had taken a lot out of him, and carrying Al a mile certainly hadn't helped the situation. He hadn't noticed such things before, but now that he no longer needed to do anything, he was dead tired, and his nerves were shot. He hefted his brother into his arms, slunk up the stairs, and collapsed onto the bed. He fell asleep with his arms wrapped around Al, too tired to even remember to kick off his combat boots.

* * *

(1) I do dearly love a side dish of Royai! I dunno if this'll end up as a major pairing in this story, but there most certainly will be a few hints of it, because it's right up there with EdWin on my list of favorite pairings.

(2) I can totally see Ed talking to the empty armor once Al leaves him to get married or something. They both have a really unhealthy attachment to each other, if you think about it. But it's cuter that way! (I probably won't deal with the armor much, though, in case you were wondering.)

Parental!Roy/Ed may show up in this also, by the way. Because I absolutely adore it. But the big focus, of course, will be Brotherly!Ed/Al. And the animals are coming! Actually...they're already appearing... That's all I'm saying, I don't want to spoil it. XD But worry not, Al will get his kitten by the end of the story. -nods- Because he totally deserves one!

Thank you everybody for reviewing last chapter! Until next time!


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